SORRY BEN, BAIRSTOW CAN BE OUR No.3 AND STILL KEEP
In three weeks’ time, the build-up would have ended and the Ashes will be well underway. Between now and then though, England have three warm-up matches to narrow their squad down and pick an XI ready to do battle in Brisbane.
And while all the talk has been about who will bat No.3, or who will fill Ben Stokes’ place as all-rounder, one question that hasn’t been asked is who will keep wicket. The obvious answer is Jonny Bairstow, but there have been a few murmurings that Ben Foakes may take the gloves with Jonny playing as a specialist batsman.
There’s no reason why Bairstow couldn’t do both – come in at three and keep wicket. But Surrey’s Foakes would be solid behind the stumps if that’s the way England want to go. Ben is still relatively inexperienced, having played just 77 first-class games, but the Oval is as near to an Aussie pitch as you’ll get.
I’ve spoken before about how Australia is the easiest place to keep wicket I’ve ever been to, so there should be no worries in his ability. The Kookaburra ball goes nicely in your hands and the pitches are so consistent with regular bounce and you just have so much time to move your feet.
Pitches are quicker and bounce more in Australia, and while you may think it makes standing up to the stumps for spin more difficult, it’s actually simpler because you can come up earlier. You know the pitches are going to be true, and you’ll use the carry in your momentum.
As I say, I think Bairstow can do both. Alec Stewart batted at the top of the order and kept wicket, and Bairstow is a fit lad who would have no issue with it. It would allow an extra bowler or batsman to come in down the order and not have the pressure of potentially facing the new ball.
In the later years of my career I opened the batting in the County Championship while keeping wicket. It actually helped me.
If you’re opening the batting on a green top, it helps you talk to the bowlers about what length to bowl. If you’re fielding first, then you’re watching the ball off the pitch for a few hours and already have your eye in.
Bairstow isn’t the finished article when it comes to keeping, but you get a lot of confidence in Australia. You can take some good diving catches and you’re standing so far back to the seamers that it’s just an easier job.
He’s not lacking in confidence, but a good series with the gloves could cement it further.
Joe Root might also be keen in having Bairstow behind the stumps for when it comes down to DRS. They’ll have their own mini-committee for when it comes down to deciding when
As a back-up keeper you have to want to play even if you’re 4-0 down going into Sydney, you can’t switch off
to review, and Bairstow as wicketkeeper will be a part of it.
Foakes is in good nick and would have learnt a lot at Surrey, playing with Kumar Sangakkara. Just being on an England Ashes tour will be huge and so beneficial for him in the future. He may not expect to play any Tests, let alone all five, but he needs to keep mentally sharp.
Touring as a batsman, you know that five or six of about eight are being chosen, and it’s four or five bowlers out of six. As a keeper it’s one of two. So you know it’s you against just one person, but you’re all there as a team, and you want the best for the side.
I loved working with Stewie when we were both in the squad in India and Sri Lanka. Watching him prepare and see how he does it showed me a lot, and you can only learn from being on a tour like this. You’ve earned the right to be in the squad and you respect that about each other.
You’ll play some warm-up games, and there’s a tour match ahead of the third Test at Perth that Foakes will probably get a game in, so you always need to be ready. Wicketkeepers, a bit more than batsman and bowlers, are more susceptible to finger injuries, so you need to stay focused.
Unless the main man gets injured or has a horrific loss of form, you know you’re unlikely to play, but you can’t let that get to you. Jonny will want Foakes to be at the top of his game in training, too, because it will keep them both sharp. You can’t rest and believe you have your space in the team guaranteed.
The Ashes is a long tour, and no doubt the players have already had a few rounds of golf Down Under. It’s about being mentally relaxed, but also always ready to perform.
As a back-up keeper, you need to want to play, even if you’re 4-0 down going into Sydney. Mother cricket can kick you up the backside at any time, so you can’t switch off.